You are experience tingling, numbness, weakness or pain and you want to know what’s causing it? This quick guide will explain you how.

Causes of Tingling in Hands & Feet

Tingling sensations in the hands and feet are commonly associated with symptoms such as burning, pain or numbness in the hands or feet. These sensations can sometimes reflect damage to nerves in the area. However, in some cases, tingling can be temporary and benign. It could potentially result from pressure on nerves (when you cross your legs for too long or when you sleep on your hand). Many people refer to this as “pins and needles” and the sensation is eased once pressure is removed. At GNC Dubai, tingling sensations or nerve pain can be diagnosed by our licensed team of neurologists.

Peripheral neuropathy, cases in which there is more serious damage to the nerves, has a number of different causes and can vary in severity depending on the person affected. Causes include vitamin deficiencies, diabetes, kidney failure, autoimmune diseases and infections.

The term “peripheral neuropathy” was given to this nerve damage as it affects nerves that are distant from the brain and spinal cord – occurring more often in hands or feet. There are over 100 types of peripheral neuropathy and over time it can worsen, resulting in disabilities or decreased mobility.

Tingling & Weakness in Hands, Feet, Legs Treatment: Symptoms & More

A disease is the underlying cause (i.e. multiple sclerosis), a symptom is how the disease presents itself (i.e. numbness in the limbs)

Tingling, numbness, weakness and pain are the most common symptoms in neurology. Why? Neurology is the science of the nerves (neurons). There are different types of Nerves in the human body:

Sensory (or afferent) neurons: send information from sensory receptors to the brain. The receptors have different locations and functions:

1. Eye – Vision

2. Nose – Smell

3. Tongue – Taste

4. Skin, inner organs – Feel, Vibration, Pressure, Pain

Motor (or efferent) neurons: send information from the brain to muscles or glands.

1. Muscles (limbs, heart, blood vessels etc..)

2. Glans (saliva etc..)

The nervous system is controlling all functions of the human body. A nerve damage is resulting in a specific function loss

1. Numbness: damage of a sensory nerve sending sensory information from the skin to the brain

2. Tingling: damage of a sensory nerve sending sensory information from the skin to the brain

3. Pain: damage of a sensory nerve sending sensory information from the skin to the brain

4. Muscle weakness: damage of a motor nerve sending a movement impulse from the brain to the muscles

Ok, tingling, numbness, weakness and pain are the most common symptoms in neurology and they are caused by nerve damages. So far so good. Now it gets a bit more complicated because we want to know where and which exact nerve is damaged. Basically there are 2 different locations possible. The CNS (Central Nervous System – Brain & Spine) and the PNS (Peripheral Nervous System – Nerves of the limbs and inner organs). It’s a bit confusing because:

Both locations can lead to the same symptoms you may experience.

For example blindness. The patient is suffering from vision loss. This can be caused by a damage of the nerve receptors in the eye, the nerve cells leading from the eye to the brain or the nerve cells in the brain itself. Tingling, numbness or pain can be caused by a damage of the nerve receptors in the skin, the nerve cells leading from the skin to the brain or the nerve cells in the brain itself.

Now it gets even more complicated because we want to know the cause of the nerve damage.

The same symptom can be caused by many different diseases.

Numbness can be caused by a squeezed nerve, by neuropathy, by multiple sclerosis or by a brain tumor etc. This shows why it is important to find the exact cause of the nerve damage.

Causes

• Multiple sclerosis

• Stroke, Transient ischemic attack (TIA)

• Migraines

• Seizures

• Nerve Damage (Neuropathy) due to Diabetes

• Nerve injury (i.e. neck injury, back injury)

• Herniated disk in your spine

• Pressure on your nerves (could be due to scar tissue, enlarged blood vessels, infection, tumors or Carpal tunnel syndrome (pressure on a • nerve at the wrist)

• Sitting or standing in the same position for a long time

• Transverse myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord)

• Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain)

• Abnormal electrolyte levels

• A lack of vitamin B12 or other vitamin

• others

Causes of Tingling

Diabetes is known to be one of the most common causes of peripheral neuropathy. Typically, tingling and other symptoms will first develop in both feet and shoot up the legs in cases of diabetic neuropathy. In many cases, symptoms of diabetic neuropathy tend to be the first signs of diabetes.

Nerve entrapment syndromes are also known to be a cause of peripheral neuropathy. This includes carpal tunnel syndrome, peroneal nerve palsy, ulnar nerve palsy and radial nerve palsy.

Other causes include:

• Systemic diseases such as kidney disorders, liver disease, connective tissue disorders, cancers and benign tumors that impinge on nerves.

• Toxins including mercury, thallium, and even industrial or environmental chemicals along with lead and arsenic. This can also include certain medications, as well as antiviral and antibiotic drugs.

• Vitamin deficiencies. Vitamins E, B1, B6, B12 and niacin are known to be essential in order to maintain healthy nerve function. A Vitamin B12 deficiency can also lead to anemia, which is also a common cause of peripheral neuropathy. However, too much Vitamin B6 is known to cause tingling in the hands and feet.

• Infections such as shingles, Epstein-Barr, Lyme disease, herpes simplex, cytomegalovirus and HIV/AIDS.

• Inherited disorders that include a group that may have sensory and motor symptoms.

• Autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Guillain-Barré syndrome and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Many injuries can result in nerves being compressed, damaged or crushed, resulting in severe nerve pain. A good example of this is nerve compression that’s caused by a dislocated bone or a slipped disc.

The treatment will be completely different depending on the cause.

Summarizing, we know that tingling, numbness, weakness and pain are the most common symptoms in neurology and they are caused by nerve damages. The damages can be in different locations and they may be caused by different underlying diseases.

How does a neurologist find out what is causing my tingling, numbness, weakness and pain?

In the consultation he will ask you about the symptoms you are experiencing. Onset, pain level, changes during the day or night time, development, location etc… In the neurological examination he will investigate the symptoms and check if they are on both sides, limited to a dermatome, reflexes etc. Moreover for specific damages there are specific neurological examinations like NCV (nerve conducting velocity), Evoked Potentials, MRI etc. Certain diseases like multiple sclerosis require more extensive investigations.

Diagnosis of Tingling Hands and Feet

A physical exam is usually the go-to method when it comes to diagnosing tingling hands or feet. Doctors will look at your extensive medical history, address your symptoms, work and social environments, risk of infectious diseases, as well as your family history of neurological disease.

Additional tests carried out include:

• An EMG (electromyogram) that tests the electrical activity of the muscles

• Nerve conduction velocity (NCV)

• Blood tests to detect diabetes, liver or kidney dysfunction, vitamin deficiencies, metabolic disorders and signs of an abnormal immune system

• An examination of cerebrospinal fluid to identify the antibodies that are associated with peripheral neuropathy

• Computed tomography (CT)

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

• Nerve biopsy

• Skin biopsies to look at nerve fiber endings

We hope this article could give you a short and not too medical overview of the diagnostic process in case you are experiencing the most common neurological symptoms of tingling, numbness, weakness or pain. In case you have further questions, our team also consists of experienced doctors in psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.